A fun read with Egyptian history and mythology, but inconsistent pacing and some weird character choices.
Firstly, I really didn’t like Ine 3/5 stars
A fun read with Egyptian history and mythology, but inconsistent pacing and some weird character choices.
Firstly, I really didn’t like Inez and found her super annoying. She was very naïve, but never seemed to learn from this or grow as a character. The characters as a whole were quite flat and boring – Ricardo, Abdullah, Kareem, Whit, they all felt one-dimensional.
The plot was pretty good once they arrived in Philae and I loved reading about the tomb they were excavating! There were a few plot twists, a couple of which I guessed, but it was still fun to see them play out.
However, I felt the entire ending/last 30% of the book to be paced SO STRANGELY. The tone was all the way off – in the second last chapter we’re still building the romance with a dance, and then the next chapter there’s a gruesome murder! It just didn’t feel like an ending at all and was super anti-climactic. Also, the murder came out of nowhere like what the fuck this is a sharp tone change that isn’t well-addressed.
The romance was cute and I definitely felt a connection, but they definitely didn’t have enough time to fall for one another as the events of this book seemed to happen over a week or two? At least that’s what it felt like. Yet their banter in the middle part of the book made it drag! I somehow need more banter but also less? Or at least better quality romance development tbh
3/5 I’ll probably read the second book because I’m intrigued but god I hope it’s paced better because this was lowkey a mess, but at least it was a mess with some good times ...more
I really enjoyed the short horror stories in this one, but most were just .... so bland. Even King himself seems surprised people liked them in his afI really enjoyed the short horror stories in this one, but most were just .... so bland. Even King himself seems surprised people liked them in his afterwords LMAO ...more
some gorgeous quotes with a really tight plot and awesome videogame stuff
YET i was let down by characterisation, HARD
Sam is infuriating! BU 3/5 stars
some gorgeous quotes with a really tight plot and awesome videogame stuff
YET i was let down by characterisation, HARD
Sam is infuriating! BUT i found alot of his quotes and chapters to be really hard-hitting and powerful. best character in the book and it isnt even close (although it isnt saying much)
Sadie is boring, obnoxious, spoiled, insipid and annoying. i cant move past her being an affair partner. yes, Dov was disgusting but she never seems to learn from this and her entire life is centred around him. even at the end of the book they are shown to still be friends even though he abused her and is scum. she is STUPID and ENTIRELY SELFISH. she 100% ruined this book.
Marx is a pure angel with a pretty face who needs more depth because while he's certainly the easiest character to like, he isnt much more than that. his romance with Sadie felt fake and i never once believed these two people were in love hahahaha
Sam and Sadie's relationship was complex and while i understand both of their respective frustrations with the other, i couldn't get past how obnoxious they both can be, which is a shame because the writing was lovely and i adored the videogame design parts of the book...more
I see what it was going for with the whole rich people literally live off the poor omggggg that has ne 2/5 stars
Nauuuuur so this was a bit of a fail
I see what it was going for with the whole rich people literally live off the poor omggggg that has never been done before ever!!! So deep!!! So spooky!! It just fell super flat for me.
Marion is the dumbest biatch I have ever read about, like her actions and words are just so confusing and brain-dead. She keeps trusting the shadiest mfs ever and then falls in love in 0.2 seconds to the first hot rich woman she sees, actually horny on main. Embarrazzing. I think we need to go back to shaming people because Marion is a FOOL.
Sooooo this book is meant to be a gothic horror but it’s a gothic dark romance. It isn’t scary at all, and you can see what is really happening from like day 1. In fact, I kept thinking of interesting plot twists, but we actually went with the most boring and cliched “twist” possible. Lame.
Lisavet and Marion were an atrocious couple dahling like what the fuck. There was no development at all, Lisavet is just enraptured with Marion’s blood and her “taste” which felt so instalove and soul-matey and I just did not vibe at all with it. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and Lisavet to go all crazy monster on us, but she didn’t and was just not the villain I was hoping for. (view spoiler)[ She should’ve been a manipulative psychopath instead of actually “loving” Marion, like I wanted her to torture Marion or something dark! WHERE IS THE HORROR BABE? (hide spoiler)]
I feel like I’m being too mean, so I will say that this book is compulsively readable and well-written. I just did not vibe with the characters and plot, which, to me, matters a lot more, hence the rating.
If you loved this, I’m so sorry but I needed more horror in this one and less “romance” and half-baked attempts at taking on the class system and comparing it to vampirism. ...more
Beautiful writing and magical realism, but the pacing and characterisation was not perfect. Orquídea's timeline was by far my favourite parts of the bBeautiful writing and magical realism, but the pacing and characterisation was not perfect. Orquídea's timeline was by far my favourite parts of the book and I devoured her chapters, yet found Marimar and Rey lacking in comparison. Overall a good read that could have been perfect with some pacing changes...more
This book was so boring that I can barely write a review for it, so I will write an acrostic poem instead (channeling all that big-brain gr 2/5 stars
This book was so boring that I can barely write a review for it, so I will write an acrostic poem instead (channeling all that big-brain grade 5 energy here):
B – Briseis being stupid and not being able to connect any simple plot points O – Only one real setting, which is a gothic mansion that contains like 3 rooms of note and 0 intrigue. R – Romance straight out of a terrible, terrible 2000s paranormal book I – Ingeniously flat characterization all around the board* N – No plot until 80% G – God what a stupid, convoluted, ridiculous villain *Except for Briseis’ mums, who were very fun and cute.
I liked the Greek mythology and discussion about Medea but let’s be honest, this duology should’ve been reduced to one book because fuck all happens in this one and the ending is a hot mess.
Disappointed but not surprised :/ This book has a great premise and an amazing setting: a sanatorium has been converted into a luxury hotel 2/5 stars
Disappointed but not surprised :/ This book has a great premise and an amazing setting: a sanatorium has been converted into a luxury hotel in the Swiss mountains and a serial killer has made it their home. Awesome, creepy, interesting!
But, ultimately, not very good. The writing is decent, although a lot of the dialogue felt very stilted — one person would just be the stand-in for the audience and do nothing but ask questions while the other answers them, sometimes glancing away or doing something shifty to give a “clue”.
The ending is simply baffling and the murderer and their motive is really, really stupid. I’ve seen better villains in Scooby-Doo. It honestly sounds like one of the more silly episodes of Criminal Minds, where you finish it and go “well that was a whole lot of … something”. (view spoiler)[ So let me get this straight: a woman was raped so she kills the guy to get revenge (okay I follow so far) but she also kills other women (innocent women!!!) to shed light on the fact that women in the 1920s were abused at the sanatorium. Um…. So she … kills women …. To shed light on. … women who were … murdered…… hmmmmmmmmmmmmm….. something isn’t adding up here :D The whole message of this book is basically don’t silence women and try to bury their trauma, yet the main villain, who is actively advocating for this, literally does silence women by torturing and murdering them! Yikes!!
Which is even worse when you realise that Elin’s SOCIOPATHIC BROTHER is basically “redeemed” by the end of this book: he may have been an anger-filled, manipulative piece of shit, but he didn’t kill Sam so he’s forgiven :) Oh, and it was actually Elin’s fault for their brother’s death and now she realises she was wrong and misjudged her brother the whole time. The plot LITERALLY GASLIGHTS THIS WOMAN?? (hide spoiler)]
The characters were so bland and boring. Elin is so ridiculously stupid and being in her headspace depressed me: she has no personality aside from feeling “off” about the hotel and being truly inept at her job, making “realisations” that the audience already assumed was common knowledge. omg Elin u poor thing, it must be hard having 0 brain cells.
And Will is toxic and an asshole and the worst boyfriend in the world who mansplains his own girlfriend’s job to her for like 300 pages.
So while the atmosphere and spooky vibes were pretty spot on and I was intrigued for most of the book, it still fails as a mystery, jamming in as many “twists” as it possibly can with such a bland, boring cast of replaceable characters. Also, the epilogue makes it seem like this is going to be a series which is a no from me darling.
2/5 stars I was hoping for a Midsommar ending and I am frankly disappointed...more
currently on chapter 3 and bored every second of reading this, i'm very sorry to people who like this book but it's a no from me ladscurrently on chapter 3 and bored every second of reading this, i'm very sorry to people who like this book but it's a no from me lads...more
This book really surprised me. I went into it with quite low expectations as it’s King’s first book and the only other book I’ve read by hi 4/5 stars
This book really surprised me. I went into it with quite low expectations as it’s King’s first book and the only other book I’ve read by him (I started It’ but it was a slog — I got about halfway through before putting It down for something more fun). However, in my opinion, Carrie is really, really well-done.
Why It’s Better Than I Thought It Would Be:
- I really like how King talks about random details about many different background characters. It can definitely be tedious, but I enjoyed it here as the people of the town are so important, especially during Prom Night as we see their reactions to the school and town burning down around them.
- The characterisation: it was brilliant. Carrie was completely sympathetic, even when she was being a murderous lunatic. I could not wait for her to get her revenge, especially on her mother (who I hated like I have never hated anyone in my LIFE). I also liked Sue Snell and Tommy, who were really just trying to be nice to Carrie for once, until it totally backfired on them — especially Tommy. I even managed to feel bad for Chris despite everything she did, simply because Billy treated her like shit.
- The interspersed newspaper clippings, parts from books written about the event, interviews etc. I’ve seen plenty of people hate these, but they only heightened the suspense for me. I didn’t know the extent of the destruction Carrie wrought on the town (I knew the basics because it’s huge in pop culture, but not the whole ending) so seeing these biographical moments from people who survived it made it so much more suspenseful. I had to know what was going to happen because everyone was hyping it up so much! And it actually delivered, Carrie totally levels the town. Queen shit.
- The ending. I loved loved loved when Sue finds Carrie dying and their minds connect or something weird telekinetic shit like that. Finally, Carrie had someone who could understand her, even if she was dying. It was actually so heart-wrenching and I felt myself get quite sad. Also, I loved when everyone immediately knew who Carrie was without ever having met her while she was destroying the town because of her powers. I don’t know why I loved this so much, but it was really satisfying that they finally truly saw Carrie, even if it was in the midst of their doom. It was great.
The Parts I Didn’t Like:
- The beginning was a bit slow and it took me a while to get immersed in the story. Considering it’s a very short book, it still felt like more could’ve been cut at the beginning.
- We didn’t get as many Carrie POV scenes as I wanted, especially in Part One, which kept going to other character’s minds when I wanted to read more about Carrie’s life and the way she sees the world. It wasn’t too terrible, but I would’ve liked to see even more about her before Prom Night.
Conclusion:
Carrie was a nice surprise for me, and definitely makes me want to read more of King’s work (although I think I’ll keep It on hold for a while). It was incredibly suspenseful for me and Part Two was simply brilliant. Carrie’s death was tragic but fitting, and I loved that telekinesis was something that manifested only in women, which scared the authorities even more. The fact that the book began and ended in blood was so good and omg I have to stop or I’ll keep going on and on about it. Overall, it’s a great book and a good introduction to King’s work. :)...more
Nothing I write could ever do this book justice. It’s important, it’s special and it’s both heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. 4.5/5
Nothing I write could ever do this book justice. It’s important, it’s special and it’s both heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time. I can definitely see why it’s already being taught in schools and still reigns at the top of the NYT bestsellers list, 2 years after it came out.
The Hate U Give follows Starr Carter, a sixteen year old black girl who witnesses the death of her unarmed friend by a police officer. But it’s so much more than that. It’s a look at casual racism, friendships and when to let them go, interracial relationships, and systematic racism. It also features one of the most interesting and loving families I’ve ever seen with Starr’s family. Her parents are amazing, especially her mother (that Candy Crush line made me laugh so hard), her brothers are the definition of amazing brothers. Even Sekani, even though he’s cheeky to the max.
When I went into this book, I knew I would read something important about racism and how it’s routinely perpetuated in society. I read all of that, and it was damn well done. What I also got was a closer look at black culture in the United States, highlighting it’s focus on family and friends. Starr’s family felt like real people, and I couldn’t help but love them.
Only taking half a star off because I felt the ending was a bit rushed and parts of the middle could’ve been cut down a bit to allow space for the ending. ...more
Mexican Gothic follows Noemì Taboada, a wealthy socialite in 1950s Mexico City. When she receives a strange letter from her newlywed cous 3.5/5 stars
Mexican Gothic follows Noemì Taboada, a wealthy socialite in 1950s Mexico City. When she receives a strange letter from her newlywed cousin Catalina, speaking of ghosts and horror in her new home, Noemì goes to investigate and possibly help her cousin escape if needed. But High Place has dark secrets that date back generations, secrets that threaten to engulf Noemì completely.
This is a really great gothic book: it’s dark and super disturbing at some points. However, it’s an ‘eh’ horror book. I went into this knowing the horror wasn’t too pronounced, but I’m still a bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely messed up and gross at some points, but I was never scared . (Maybe my tolerance levels are high right now because I’m bingeing Hannibal which is 100000000x more disturbing, scary, and gothic (Hannibal’s house is so gothic don’t even lie) than this book. Idk)
What I Liked:
- Noemì - she’s a fierce character and I really enjoyed her perspective. She was the right amount of strong-willed without being untouchable, which worked really well in this setting. She’s smart and I loved her inner voice. - Francis - I never knew whether to trust him or not, but nevertheless he was a bit of levity for Noemì (and me) while she was at High Place. Plus, he reminded me a bit of Christopher Lightwood with his nerdy plant science which is always a bonus. - The setting - creepy, creepy, creepy. While it’s pretty standard for a horror story (Victorian-style house, crazy white family) it felt fresh in this book and I was always eager to find out more about the house and what the hell it was hiding. - The themes about colonisation and misogyny. I won’t go much into colonisation as it’s kinda spoilery to talk about it in-depth, but it’s so sad how the women in this family were treated. Ruth was a tragic character and I desperately wished to learn more about her. - The writing - it was lush and easy to read and kept me hooked.
What I Didn’t Like:
- The reveals - I felt like they came too soon and weren’t enough of a punch. Everyone loves a good reveal, but I felt like there was never a strong one in this book. I kept waiting for more to come, for another twist, but there wasn’t one, and it kind of ruined the ending for me, as I wasn’t processing what was happening, just searching for another twist to shock me. - The ending - it happened very quickly and was over in a couple of chapters, which felt too quick after 20 chapters of build up. Plus, I would’ve liked to see more resolution, particularly with Noemì talking to her father about what happened. Oh well. - Catalina - she was the whole reason Noemì comes to High Place and yet she just existed to spout creepy shit every few chapters and give Noemì a reason to stick around. I would’ve liked to see more of her side of things. Especially with her being married to Virgil (yuck).
Overall: I read this super quickly and enjoyed the first half immensely. I was a bit disappointed with the ending and the overall reveals and story, but I still think this book is important and a very strong read. :)
Spoilery comments :D
(view spoiler)[ - I hate Virgil so much, this dude was literally Joffrey 2.0 and watching him die made me happy. - I was super confused about how Agnes was the mind of the fungus? Hasn’t this been going for generations? Noemì literally says Howard must be like super super old, yet Agnes was only incorporated into it after her death, which couldn’t have been more than 50 years ago as she was Virgil’s aunt. So did the fungus not have a mind for all that time when Howard was still using it? If so, why did he now need a mind to control it if he had been controlling it for generations? - Why did the Doyles cannibalise new babies instead of using them to, ya’know, continue the family line??? Francis says it made them connect to the fungus stronger, but they already ate the gross fungus from Howard anyway and seemed to connect to it easily through their bloodline. So whyyyy did they eat the babies? Especially since they now have none due to all the inbreeding causing them to all be infertile? - I really wanted Florence to be redeemed, but I guess she was too deeply ingratiated with the gloom. Her life sucked, that’s for sure, and she didn’t seem too bad aside from being a mean bitch. It was still satisfying when Francis killed her. - The gloom was confusing — I imagined it like a dream-world where they could go and sift through memories and stuff, but apparently it was how Howard controlled people and how Virgil controlled Noemì which makes NO SENSE TO ME. It was just confusing. - I’m very happy that Noemì and Francis are okay and together at the end. They’re cute, and I hope they can stay together even though he’s broke and they’re both incredibly traumatised. Mutual trauma is always the best meet-cute, right? Right guys? Guys? - :) that’s all for now (hide spoiler)]...more
Hell yeah second classic read of the year, I'm a cultured reader now lads!
This book is really damn good. Not so much for the storyline, which 4 stars
Hell yeah second classic read of the year, I'm a cultured reader now lads!
This book is really damn good. Not so much for the storyline, which is pretty slow, but more for the idea, themes and beautiful writing. The characters are just … there. Dorian himself is quite complex, but we don’t really a descent into sin as much as a before and after with him. Basil Hallward was a simple but relatable chap (who hasn’t been obsessed over someone they thought was pretty for 20-odd years, letting them become the centre of your world and cutting off any other meaningful relationship or connection you may attain? No? oh okay). Lord Henry was a misogynist and an annoying piece of shit who loved to talk and corrupt anybody who might listen.
But let’s talk about the real star of the show: Gladys, the feisty Duchess that is sadly introduced so late in the story. She is so underrated; I haven’t even seen her in any other reviews! She was whip-smart and would go head to head with Henry in some of the best verbal sparring I’ve ever read.
“I am on the side of the Trojans. They fought for a woman.
Love that for her.
The themes Wilde explored were done so well and with such skill. It’s no wonder this book is a classic, and many other works of Wilde’s: he’s a master of language and uses it to take a look at the true ugly and evil of society and casual cruelty, especially through Henry, who was the reason Dorian became enamoured with his looks in the first place. Henry taught Dorian that looks are all that matters, all that is worth anything in society, and Dorian becomes obsessed with keeping his beauty, no matter the cost.
The ending was beautiful and poignant, if a little sudden. The last line always gives me chills. Overall, The Picture of Dorian Gray is fantastic and holds up incredibly well even over a century later. The themes and characters are still prevalent in today’s society. Also, the fact that a lot of this book was a deep look into Wilde’s own history and homosexuality in a society that essentially killed him for it made the book even more personal. The line Basil says at the beginning of the story reminded me of this:
“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter … it is rather the painter who, on the coloured canvas, reveals himself.”
Wilde reveals his soul through this work, which I think is a big reason it’s still popular today: we are not only reading about the characters, but also the man who wrote them.
Some of my other favourite quotes:
“There was something fascinating in this son of love and death.”
“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”
“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”
“Beautiful sins, like beautiful things, are the privilege of the rich.”
“The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
“The world is changed because you are made of ivory and gold. The curve of your lips rewrite history.”
The fact that I didn’t love this book will always upset me. It has everything it needs to make me fall in love: a Romeo and Juliet retellin 2/5 stars
The fact that I didn’t love this book will always upset me. It has everything it needs to make me fall in love: a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai with rival gangs. It has history, it has an enemies to lovers romance, it has diversity, and it has fantasy elements. I had such high expectations, but I feel like it fell short in many regards.
For one, Roma and Juliette were very bland in my opinion. Juliette was a vastly better character, yet I felt almost nothing for her. The closest I ever felt to her was when she was talking about the effects of colonialism on her people and the city that she loved, and how she’s treated differently after her years in America. Roma was just all-around a bland character who I didn’t care about.
Me not caring is the main problem with this book. I DIDN’T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING. I liked Marshall and Benedikt and their relationship (which was VERY LIMITED), and I liked Kathleen, but that was all. And, ironically, I disliked much of their POV because it just bogged down the book. Almost nothing these side characters did affected the plot that much, and their POV chapters were largely unnecessary. They made almost no contribution to the overall mystery, especially Kathleen, which was annoying because she was a great character.
Now, let me touch on the mystery. I guessed who the bad guy was the second he’s introduced, and so will you. There were almost no twists in this book at all, and even when there was one, it was a let-down. The monster plot, while being the core of the book, felt out of place. I expected the true monster to be colonialism, and I guess it really is, but there was still a vaguely described monster running around Shanghai. It felt cartoonish, which didn’t work considering the rest of the book is about people tearing out their own throats. I was never afraid of this awful monster, and even when it’s revealed I pictured it to look like some annoying little dog with scales.
But I do want to say that this book isn’t awful. The writing is very nice, although it does dip into flowery here and there. The overall themes of racism, colonialism and a Shanghai that has been split between foreigners was very well done. The connections to the original story were handled well and you can tell the author truly loves this book and Shanghai itself, much like Juliette.
Overall it was disappointing but not as awful as my previous book club picks ( The Night Circus and A Curse so Dark and Lonely ). And the cover is still the most beautiful thing in the world....more
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